Is Your Human Resources Department Guilty Of These 4 Cardinal Sins?
Putting a human resources department in place is, on the face of things, a real positive. It’s a sure sign that you care about your colleagues, and want them to be happy at all costs.
After all, this is a whole area dedicated to their wellbeing. And, it’s likely you’ve pushed a load of funds into this. In fact, if your human resources office is just up and running, you’re probably feeling like the employer who got the milk. Surely this will encourage your employees to do their best work for a boss as good as you?
In truth though, a shocking amount of staff have little to no faith in their HR departments. In fact, many would rather go straight to their bosses.
As such, your efforts here could quickly go to waste if you aren’t careful. But, how can you ensure that doesn’t happen? For the most part, there are some common reasons for lack of faith in human resources. And, if you know what they are, you can at least make sure your department isn’t making those mistakes.
Lucky for you, we’re going to look at the cardinal HR sins you need to banish if you want to see any rewards for your efforts.
#1 No private office space
It’s only an HR department, right?
They don’t need their own office. In fact, you may see nothing wrong with merely including a human resources desk in your central office space. But, this is a cardinal sin on your part and theirs. In many ways, heading to HR is much the same as, say, going to the school counselor.
If someone else sees you do it, rumors will abound. Besides, it’s not easy to have confidential conversations when the rest of the office is five steps away. And, that’s exactly what this space needs to be used for. So, don’t cut corners here.
Dedicate a private office to this area, and make sure HR staff known to keep the door closed during any meeting. That way, your team will feel much more able to make use of the service provided within. And, they won’t have to worry as much about the rest of the office gossiping about their reasoning.
#2 Leaks in the system
Another major HR flaw is leaked in the system. What’s more, this applies in a few different ways. For one, we’re all been in a workplace where at least one HR member is a terrible gossip.
No one in your workplace will have faith in the system if this is the case. What’s more, this is a breach of confidentiality which could even land you in legal hot water.
So, be careful with who you employ. You need to know they’re trustworthy and able to keep employee secrets to themselves. What’s more, you should take any complaints of this nature seriously. Take immediate action if you fear confidentiality isn’t being upheld.
Leaks are also relevant when it comes to your HR filing system. Once, this was easy enough to keep control over. A locked filing cabinet with a limited number of keys would about do the job. But, now sensitive information is stored on computers, things are a little trickier.
It’s all too easy to lose track of files, and fall foul to security breaches. So, you need to ensure you have a system in place which can prevent this. For one, taking security measures on each file is worthwhile.
You may also want to put an enterprise resource planning system in place. One of the main benefits of an ERP system like this is that it keeps everything in one place. And, that reduces the chances of the wrong files going walkabouts. In fact, getting on top here is the only way to instill even the slightest faith in your HR system.
Otherwise, your team members may question just how their confidential personal details are kept. And, that could lead to lawsuits you don’t want to deal with.
#3 For the employer, not the colleagues
If you handle your business in the right way, your HR department shouldn’t need to go against you as such. But, it’s crucial to remember that this is an aspect of your business which should always be FOR your employees.
It’s a difficult middle ground because you employ your human resources staff, too. But, if your employees feel as though HR feeds progress reports straight to you, is it any wonder they don’t make use of it?
This problem is evident in many workplaces primarily because HR work closely with management. Thus, they develop friendships which don’t exactly serve the ‘for the colleague’ agenda.
To make sure your human resources keeps loyalties where they should be, try to stay out of things as much as possible.
If you have genuine concerns work there isn’t up to scratch, you can take action. But, for the most part, you should leave your human resources department be. Though they work for you, they aren’t for you. Remember that.
#4 Hiring for the wrong reasons
If your business grows large enough, your HR department may also take over on the hiring front. After all, they can dedicate more time to the task than you, especially during large employment drives.
But, this throws up a whole other worry which could cause lack of faith and legal issues if you aren’t careful. Sometimes, HR employees are guilty of employing people through friendship rather than qualifications.
But, if applicants who didn’t get the position find out about behavior like this, it’s sure to come back on you. What’s more, your current workforce won’t be too pleased when they found out that the new woman is friends with Ange in HR.
It doesn’t look good, and it doesn’t do your business any favors. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you may want to make final decisions yourself. That way, you can make sure that only the best people receive job offers. And, that’s sure to keep the whole team happy.
Is your HR Department guilty of any of these cardinal sins?
